Seasonal Weather for the New Year

By Russell Russ

In recent years, it has seemed that winter did not get going until January or even February. This year has been more like the winters of old, when they started by December. This December was not overly wintery, but it was more like winter than autumn. Ponds froze over, and there was some snow. January continued the winter feel. It was not high ranking for cold or snow, but with some snow and some single digit and even below zero temperatures, it certainly had winter-like traits.

January’s monthly mean temperature of 21.1 degrees was just 0.2 degree above normal. It was very average. January, on average, is Norfolk’s coldest month of the year. There were no days with daily record temperatures. There were five days with low temperatures in the single digits and two days with below zero temperatures. The month’s high temperature of 43 degrees was on January 29. The low temperature of minus 8 degrees was observed on January 22. Norfolk’s warmest January was in 2023 with a mean temperature of 32.0 degrees and the coldest was in 1982 with 11.7 degrees. 

January’s total precipitation of 1.55 inches was 2.47 inches below normal. There was some rainfall during the month, which can happen in January, but most of the precipitation was in the form of snow. Oddly enough, there was a thunderstorm with brief heavy rain right around midnight on New Year’s Eve that lasted into the early hours of New Year’s Day. It then snowed during the late afternoon and evening of New Year’s Day and we picked up 2.4 inches of snow. Not often does a year ring in with thunder, lightning and rain, then end up with over two inches of snow. Isn’t the weather fascinating?

We are already in a deficit to start 2025. It was Norfolk’s sixth driest January. Let us hope it is not a sign of what the rest of the year will be like. The wettest January occurred in 1979 with a total of 11.77 inches and the driest was in 1970 with just 0.74 inches.

The monthly snowfall total of 11.0 inches was 9.5 inches below normal. The total for the month was 11.0 inches, but for the first three weeks there was only one to two inches on the ground. For the last 10 days of the month the snow depth ranged from four to six inches. The largest storm snowfall total for the month came on January 19 with a total of 5.6 inches.

The snowiest January occurred in 1987 with 50.5 inches. The least snowy was in 1980 with just 2.6 inches. Norfolk’s 2024-25 winter season snowfall total through January was 25.9 inches, 18.9 inches below normal. So far, this winter is not looking good for snow lovers.   

A look ahead into February through two-thirds of the month shows that winter is still alive and well in Norfolk. Five days had lows in the single digits, and we have seen just over a foot of snow during the month. There were multiple small storms, but nothing huge. Unfortunately, most started as snow, then changed to rain or freezing rain, leaving a crust on top.

The February 15-17 storm was especially messy, with prolonged freezing rain which led to about a quarter inch of ice accretion on trees and powerlines. It was bad, but it could have been much worse. This was followed by cold temperatures freezing things up solid. Many sidewalks and driveways turned into skating rinks.

Norfolk’s maple syrup season typically starts in mid-February, but due to the cold temperatures we will be lucky to see sap flowing by the end of the month this year. Historically, February is one of Norfolk’s coldest and snowiest months of the year. It is wintertime, and this is the Icebox of Connecticut.  

Weather observations are recorded by the Great Mountain Forest at Norfolk’s National Weather Service Cooperative Weather Observer Station, Norfolk 2SW.